By 
WASHINGTON — Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos and Chief Executive Andy Jassy can’t avoid testifying in an investigation related to the company’s Prime membership program, the Federal Trade Commission said late Wednesday.
Amazon
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last month asked the FTC to cancel subpoenas issued to Bezos and Jassy, arguing that they aren’t steeped in the details of Prime’s sign-up and cancellation processes, which is the investigation’s focus. The FTC’s staff began the probe in March 2021, examining whether the company deceived customers into signing up for Prime and didn’t provide a simple way to cancel the program’s recurring charges, according to the order issued Wednesday.
Amazon must largely comply with a June investigative demand that sought information about other Amazon subscription programs, the FTC order said. Amazon had pushed back against that request, saying it was too burdensome and expansive.
The order sided with Amazon on one of its complaints. It said the company’s lawyers at Covington & Burling LLP can represent both the company and individual employees. The FTC staff had objected to Covington’s dual role representing the corporation as well as employees who were called to testify about how Prime works.
An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.
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